Easy ideas for bringing people together

8 Ways to Reach Volunteers

Recruiting volunteers? Trying to engage new supports for your organization? Simply need more hands helping at school? Bookmark this list of 8 simple but innovative and time-saving communication tactics for reaching volunteers:

1. Tweet: A simple tweet can say a lot! If your community organization is looking for volunteers, strategic tweeting might do the trick. Utilize searchable hashtags like city names, events, etc. Check out, 8 Best Practices When Tweeting for Help.

2. Email: Whether in a letter-style email from your nonprofit leader or an eNewsletter full of content and volunteer opportunities, email is going to be one of your number one ways to reach current and potential volunteers at just the right time. Companies like Emma, MailChimp, Constant Contact, and iContact are great vendors to check out for more enhanced eMarketing capabilities.

3. Blog/Webpage: If your nonprofit has a website, make sure your volunteer webpage is doing everything it can for you! Post volunteer opportunities and sign-up links frequently, share volunteer testimonials, and encourage visitors to follow your group on social media. You never know, your next great volunteer leader might just be a google search away!

4. Online Sign-Ups: The easiest way to coordinate and communicate with volunteers is to schedule and remind them online! Planning a service project, an appreciation potluck, a carnival, festival or fundraiser? VolunteerSpot's free online sign-ups and scheduling tools are the answer for saving time and boosting participation! Try it out now

5. Facebook: Reach volunteers where they're at - on social media! Posting volunteer opportunities, nonprofit news, even feel good quotes and volunteer pictures is a great place to start in developing a communication highway on facebook. Check out Facebook for Volunteer Recruitment & Engagement.

6. Post online: Online resources like HandsonNetwork.org, VolunteerMatch.org and CreateTheGood.org let organizations and nonprofits post volunteer opportunities in an online database that anyone can access who is interest. Read more

7. Word of mouth: Few recommendations carry as much weight as someone telling a friend what an amazing time they had volunteering for your organization. If you're group is struggling to recruit new members, consider a "Bring a friend program" where current volunteers are encouraged to bring a friend or group with them to the next volunteer event. Organic, word-of-mouth buzz helps build a loyal base of supporters for years to come.

8. Like organizations: Network with similar organizations in your area to boost one another's visibility in the community. Partnering with another local cause or group can give you access to a whole new sect of volunteers and donors who have a record for giving back and supporting the community. Consider swapping emails to one another's lists, sharing booth expenses at the community festival or promoting one another on social media.

Benefit Auction Ideas

Here's a conversation that will crop up with a few of my clients each year.

"Sherry, can we set opening bids? This item is worth $2500 and that’s worth $1000. Where are you going to start the bidding?"

"It doesn’t matter where I start the bidding,” I’ll counter. “It matters where I FINISH the bidding.”

Isn’t that true?! Think about the auction you planned last year. My guess is that you remember a few of the item sales. If something sold exceptionally high, you might first recall that item’s sale price. Conversely, if an item sold poorly, you might recall that lower final sale, too.

But do you remember what the opening bid was on those items? Probably not. That’s because at auctions, bidders and donors recall the final sale price of the item, but not the opening bid.

"That vacation sold for $4500," one will say. Another adds, "I couldn't believe it when she sold that dinner for $2000!" No one says, "I can't believe that item started at $500!"

No one says that because no one notices the first number. They notice the last number; the final price.

To a degree, I understand the auction planner's sentiment. If you're responsible for planning an event, there may be a desire to control as much as possible to ensure the gala flows as intended. It’s natural for you to ask the question, because there may be a belief that a higher opening bid will equate to a higher closing bid. (It doesn’t.)

But consider this: shouldn’t the professionals manage their respective roles? Once you’ve hired an excellent caterer, I know you don’t wander into the kitchen and tell the chef he needs more salt in the sauce. And once you’ve hired a great band, you wouldn’t dream of going onstage and telling the pianist to play with more staccato. We let those pros do their job. So it should be with the auctioneer.

Granted, some information should be shared prior to the event. The auctioneer will likely ask for that information. I typically ask questions about the value of the item, the history of the donor, details about any consignment packages, and so forth. But once I’ve got that information, opening bids fall into my job responsibility.

Trust your auctioneer to use his or her judgment on running the auction. And if all else fails, remember this: your guests only remember the sale price anyway.

Sherry Truhlar of Red Apple Auctions is an auction educator and award-winning benefit auctioneer who works nationally overseeing about 50 auctions annually. As an entertaining teacher, her popular “how to design your auction” webinars, DVDs, and reports are used by thousands of planners who want to procure big ticket items, simplify volunteer management, and properly run silent auctions, raffles, and Fund a Needs. She offers many FREE resources to planners, including her popular Item Guide, which is updated annually. Grab your copy at www.RedAppleAuctions.com

You and 9 guests will be guided by your chef instructor in creating a fabulous three-course meal. From 'Classic French Cuisine' to "Sushi' and 'Summertime Smoking and Barbecue,' the reward is yours when you sit down to enjoy the meal you've prepared. Your instructor will work closely with you to create a menu perfect for the occasion and guests will enjoy house wines and take-home recipe packets so you can all make this delectable meal again at home. Lunch events are from 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM and dinner is from 6:30 - 9:30 PM. Available at the Bethesda or Gaithersburg facilities. Gratuity not included but appreciated. Date to be mutually agreeable; not available on holidays. Value $1700.

* * *

Private epicurean delight for 10

Do you cook like you have your own TV show? If you do - or wish you could - this is the package for you! Celebrate your next occasion with a private cooking class party for 10 at ABC Cooking School+ in Bethesda. Chefs from the gourmet cooking school will guide you and your guests through an evening of cooking that you won't soon forget. Possible party themes include a seasonal farm to table meal, foods from Emilia-Romagna, summertime BBQ, classic French cuisine, sushi or a theme of your own creation. Your Chef instruction will work closely with you to create a menu perfect for the occasion - and further your dreams of being a celebrity chef. Value: $1200

+Donor name changed for anonymity

* * *

There is no 'right' or 'wrong' to either one of these; both are well-written. But if you found that you preferred one over the other, you might ask yourself why. Here's what I noticed:

The first description is written to attract the buyer who likes to cook. The second is angled towards someone who watches cooking shows and might fancy themselves a television personality. Either description is fine. Depending on what other items are in the line-up, you might opt for one over the other simply to differentiate the package from similar items.

The first description did a better job of providing restrictions. As I don't mention a package's restrictions in my verbal descriptions on stage, it's nice to have complete restrictions available for guests to privately read.

Overall, both posts are good in their length, clear titles, and providing values.

Sherry Truhlar of Red Apple Auctions is an auction educator and award-winning benefit auctioneer who works nationally overseeing about 50 auctions annually. As an entertaining teacher, her popular “how to design your auction” webinars, DVDs, and reports are used by thousands of planners who want to procure big ticket items, simplify volunteer management, and properly run silent auctions, raffles, and Fund a Needs. She offers many FREE resources to planners, including her popular Item Guide, which is updated annually. Grab your copy at www.RedAppleAuctions.com

Event Planning Made Simple

Retire your project notebook once and for all! From chili cook-offs to charity races, fall carnivals to benefit auctions, holiday performances to food festivals – most annual events begin with a binder full of action plans, check lists, ideas and resources from the past event chair.

“It was ridiculous,” said J. Knowles of Austin, TX, “when I became the school carnival chair I was presented with a notebook that had my MOM’s name on action items from when she was in the PTA and I was a student here!”

No matter what you're planning, no matter how big or small, these free tech tools will help you loose that binder once and for all:

Dropbox: File sharing is a breeze with loads of free storage space from dropbox. Literally create and save documents that can be shared with your event planning team; store and share print collaterals, forms, contracts, job descriptions and more.

Google Drive: With your Google account, your team can collaborate on planning documents, edit/update shared spread sheets, generate simple forms, and more. All saved in the cloud, you won't lost another important document again!

Trello: The simplest project management software on the web, Trello is the free and easy solution to piles of papers. Create project boards and task out what your group is do, doing, and done with. It includes easy to follow steps, checklists, the ability to assign people to certain tasks and a reset for next year!

Join.me: Wish you could show a fellow organizer something on your computer screen during your conference call? It's easy (and free) with Join.me - collaborate even when your miles apart and make the important decisions faster without having to wait to show them in person or hear back via email.

VolunteerSpot: Large events come with loads of volunteers and free event signup sheets from VolunteerSpot are the fastest, easiest (free!) way to coordinate all the people and supplies you need for your event. 24/7 access from computers and mobile devices encourage more volunteers to sign up, and automated reminders keep everyone on track. More HERE

10 Tips for a Successful Auction
Fundraiser | Online, Silent, or Live Auctions

Want
your best chance at building a successful auction fundraiser? Include these 10 tips and you’ll be well on
your way!

1. Set a Goal and Make a Plan:
Start your auction off with a monetary goal in mind. From there, you can determine how many items
you’ll need to bring in to reach that goal.
Keep in mind, it’s unlikely you’ll get 100% of their value at auction. The
standard rule of thumb is about 50% for online and silent auction items and 75%
auctioneer-sold items. Don’t forget to
deduct your budget for expenses. Then,
create a solid auction plan that will keep your solicitations
committee going until you reach your goal.
Consider adding mobile bidding to your silent auction, which can up your
profits by 10-30% over traditional paper-run auctions.

2. Get the Best Auction Items: Consider your audience and try to get items
they will love and want to buy. Gift
cards to popular shops and restaurants almost always go for full value or
higher. Items with broad appeal do best;
furniture and jewelry that are very “taste-specific” are harder to sell. Review what sold well last year and get
more. Don’t waste time on items that
didn’t sell well. Consider asking those
donors to buy an ad/sponsorship instead of donating an item. They still show their support and get the promotional
benefit.

3. Get the Buyers There:
Whether you are running an online auction or a live event auction,
you’ve got to get the bidders to the auction.
To do this, you need a well thought-out promotion and marketing campaign
that begins well before your auction begins.
Use social media, send out save-the-dates, invitations, put details in
newsletters, etc. Your goal is to get
people excited about your event and interested in participating. Another great way to accomplish this is with
a great auction website to showcase your auction items
and talk up your event.

4. Promote Your Auction Items:
This goes above and beyond just promoting your auction and highlighting
your best items. Make sure that your
online catalog has great images and feature-packed descriptions that make
people want to buy. Sell the item and
sell the donor that gave it to you. Find
good writers on your team and let them be factual, consistent, and creative. At the live event, merchandise the items for
maximum appeal. Packaging, lighting and
accessories will showcase your items to make them more appealing.

5. Timing is Everything:
An online auction shouldn’t last more than a
week. However, you can start promoting
it up to a month in advance to get people excited and looking forward to the
event. To keep things exciting, you
might consider opening and closing the bidding on items at different times. A short bidding window will give people a
sense of urgency, plus, everyone bids on the last day anyway! With a live event, keep the evening moving
along, because after the food, drinks and socializing starts to slow down,
people will leave. Close the auction by
9-9:30 pm and then let the socializing continue for your night owls.

6. Easy Does It: When your
guests come to your event, they want it to be easy... easy to find items they
are interested in, easy to bid, easy to checkout, and easy to leave. Make sure your online catalog is organized in
a way that makes your items easy to find.
You can do this by choosing the proper categories. It’s much easier to understand a category
called “Restaurants” than “Eat-it-Up”.
At your event, pay attention to the flow and staging of your
tables. Use signage to guide and direct
your guests to the locations where you want them to be and tell them what to do
when they get there. Using technology,
like smartphones, iPads, and computers for mobile
bidding and checkout
eliminates the wait lines. Think easy!

7. It IS easy being green: Save money on things that are no longer
necessary. Everyone uses email and smart
phones, so consider sending invitations electronically. No need for a printed auction catalog: put
your auction catalog online!
Don’t bother buying bidder paddles when a sticker with a bidder number
adhered to the back of the evening’s program will get the job done. Eliminate bid sheets, pens and stacks of file
folders and use mobile bidding! The goal is to make the most money possible for
your fundraiser, so save wherever you can.

8. Hire Professionals: If you are
holding a live auction, hire a professional auctioneer. A good auctioneer will pay for himself. The auction will progress more quickly, bids
will be maximized and guests will be entertained. Before you hire your auctioneer, make sure
you get references and attend one of their auctions so you can see them in
action. Make sure they have the right
personality for your event. Also, if you
are featuring entertainment or a speaker, make sure you get people that are
good at their job and match your theme and audience. They will definitely reflect on the spirit of
your event.

9. Make it Fun: People come to the event because they want to
have fun. Make it fun. You can do that with a cool theme, great food
and drinks, an overall party atmosphere.
Help people make friends, socialize, and enjoy themselves. No matter how formal your event, you can still
find ways to make it fun. The more fun
people are having, the happier they feel, and the looser their wallets
become. The way your attendees feel when
they leave your event will influence whether or not they choose to attend next
year. Perhaps cap off the evening with
an inexpensive party favor or sweet treat as they exit to end on a high note.

10. Sell more, Make more: Consider selling advertising and sponsorship
opportunities on your auction website and at your live event. This can bring in extra money for your
fundraiser. Donors will give more to get
more in return. Plus, potential donors
that don’t have items that would sell very well or who provide a service might
be willing to support your event with an online ad that links to their website,
or recognition at your live event.

Bonus
Tip: Respect Your Volunteers: Volunteers are just that. Never treat them like employees. When you recruit them, provide them with a
clearly defined job description and honor it.
They are there to help because they care. Treat them with respect and appreciate their
contribution to your organization. Thank
them at every turn, recognize them on your auction website and in your
program. They are patrons, friends, and
neighbors. Under the best of circumstances,
they become even better friends and even more loyal supporters after your
auction, perhaps even future leaders.

A wife and mother of two sons, from
Nashville, TN, Donna has been an actively involved parent for over 18
years. She has served as both leader and
volunteer on many school projects.
Utilizing her skills as a marketing professional, and experience as a
volunteer, she developed School Auction Manager. School Auction
Manager is a web-based auction software
solution providing parent volunteers with an easy-to-use tool to more
effectively manage their school’s online, live, and silent auctions.

Through the School Auction Manager
blog “Cool School for Parents”, receive a free auction planner to
help you get started on your next auction!

Audio is a must-have at the gala auction; visuals are a nice to have

When budgets are tight, a common question posed by clients is what
audio-visual (A/V) equipment is essential for their gala auction. "What can we live without?” they’ll
query.

Here's my opinion:

A good auction sound system is a must-have
for your live auction.

A large screen projecting visuals of the live
auction items as the auctioneer sells them is a nice-to-have.

Audio is critical for gala auction. Guests won't bid if they can't understand
what numbers are being said!

In contrast, visuals projected onto a large screen will support
the sale, but it's not often a make-or-break deal. When push comes to shove, I can get that item
sold without a visual.

Sure, it's more compelling to have a slick graphic or photo
tempting guests to bid. But from a
financial perspective, how much more
compelling?

I don't know the answer. It
might increase bids by 1%, 10%, or ... who knows.

That said,
there are some groups which need to think twice before they eliminate using a
large screen and projector. By
virtue of the event's design, these events must rely on the screens more heavily.

These include gala auctions which ...

didn't advertise the live auction items prior
to or at the gala.

did display the live items at the event, but
the crowd is so large (or the schedule is so frenetic) that not everyone will
have a chance to see the items up close.

have unfamiliar, but nice, items. For instance, most people can visualize an
apartment in Paris because of those Americans who have traveled overseas, Paris
is a popular destination. But if your auction includes the sale of a week stay
in a Budapest apartment, you might have some hesitant bidders! Alleviate their concerns about an unfamiliar
location by showing them a photo of the condo's living room and that gorgeous
view straight out the balcony doors.

are using an auctioneer who is good at calling
bids, but isn't strong at describing items.

Now to be clear, I’m not writing that I don't like visuals. I love visuals! Many of us prefer to look at
a graphic or photo rather than read text.
Plus the screens can be used in other ways, such as giving sponsors
recognition, reminding your guests of event procedures (e.g. “Check-out opens
at 7:30 PM”), and offering general announcements (e.g. “Congratulations to our
Longest Drive winner, John Smith.”).

But when your auction budget absolutely, positively dictates that
you get audio OR visuals, opt for the former.
Audio is a must-have.

Fundraising auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAI is featured in national publications for her trend-setting work with auction fundraisers. She teaches auction chairs easy ways to improve an auction’s financial return. Start improving your auction today by getting her FREE Auction Item Guide TM. The Guide lists the 100 top-selling items sold for over value in charity auctions. Claim your FREE copy at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.

11 Ideas for Charity Auction Venues

Changing your venue is an easy way to give a facelift to your benefit auction and it comes with the added benefit of often increasing attendance, if you select wisely. Guests love checking out new venues!

Changing your venue is an easy way to
give a facelift to your benefit auction and it comes with the added benefit of
often increasing attendance, if you select wisely. Guests love checking out new venues!

Consider
these alternatives.

Private homes - It will work if the home accommodates the
guest count. Standing on a staircase to conduct the auction gives a
bird's eye view, too.

Bed & Breakfast -At an auction gala a couple of years ago, the
buzz was all about the new venue, which was a stately antebellum home which had
recently opened as a bed & breakfast.

New hotels - For a change of scenery, head to a new
hotel. "New" might mean "recently built" or it can
just be new to your group.

Refurbished or renovated hotels - What facility is getting a facelift in your
area? Check the paper or local business journal for details of who is
undergoing a renovation.

Museums - Depending on the museum, expect to pay big
bucks - $50,000 isn't uncommon here in Washington. (Personally I
don't think it's a smart use of your funds.) In the Fort Lauderdale, FL
area, the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum hosted a client's school
auction and offered a much more affordable rate.

Public spaces – An organization in our area conducts an
auction with 1,000 people underneath a center town hall pavilion. With
good weather on your side, a gala under the stars will make for a memorable
evening … and that space rents for a mere $500 fee.

Catering hall - Because catering halls are specifically
designed for events, catering and parking is often a snap.

School auditoriums and church
fellowship halls -
These are perennially popular for two good reasons: cost and a nice open space.
Parking is also rarely a problem.

Theaters - To conduct a live auction, it's easy to have
people seated in a theater. Just make sure the lobby is large enough to
accommodate your silent auction (if you have one).

Work facilities - Know of a cool work facility? We've
conducted more than one benefit auction in an airport terminal or hangar. What about a manufacturing plant, nightclub,
or – in Hutchinson, Kansas – a salt mine 650’ underground?

If it’s got the right amount of space and
acoustics can be adjusted for an auction, almost any venue will work for your
gala.

Fundraising auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAI is featured in national publications for her trend-setting work with auction fundraisers. She teaches auction chairs easy ways to improve an auction’s financial return. Start improving your auction today by getting her FREE Auction Item Guide TM. The Guide lists the 100 top-selling items sold for over value in charity auctions. Claim your FREE copy at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.

5 Ideas for Holiday-Inspired School Auction Class Projects

Some school auctions – especially those schools with younger
children – like to sell class projects at their gala. These projects are made by the students with
careful supervision by either a committed parent or art teacher.

If your school gala is held in the November through December time
period, talk with the supervising adult now to suggest that those class
projects take on a holiday angle. Testing
out some wintry inspired items can add a nice mix to your existing auction
items.

Class
projects for school auctions can take on a holiday-theme this time of year, here are some ideas:

1. Holiday tree ornaments

Ornaments can be made of glass, wood, paper, or other materials,
depending on the age of the children.

For older kids, having them work with glass might be your best
bet. Glass is always an excellent seller on the classroom art tables. At one event, large glass spheres about 6”
across made for beautiful holiday tree ornaments and fit in nicely with the
season.

2. Holiday
cards

Year round, we sell handmade greeting cards in our school
auctions. But as the timing of your
event is near the holidays, why not play to that? Parents will soon be sending out holiday
cards, so why not have the kids create inspired ones?

Cards can be designed and decorated by very young kids or older
ones … the difference will be self-evident. :)

3. Trees and wreaths

Trees and wreaths can be decorated by an entire class and sold at
the auction. For trees, students can string the lights, make the ornaments,
hang them on the tree, and even create the tree-topper. It’s not uncommon to have a theme around the
tree. It might be that all the ornaments
are blue, or – for Catholic schools – that the tree ties to a theme, like a particular
Saint.

For wreaths, the concept is similar, but on a smaller scale.

If you find a company that sells wholesale wreaths, one option
could be to commit to buying a certain number of wreaths (20, 30 or more), and
have the students decorate them in a similar fashion. At the auction, parents
sign-up to buy a wreath at a given price point ($50) that ensures the school
makes money beyond what the wholesale cost of the wreath was.

4. Decorated paper lanterns for the sidewalk

Paper lanterns aren’t such a great idea if you live where 3′ of
snow is already on the ground by October, but depending on your latitude, this
is a class art project that could work. I’ve seen paper lanterns used along the
walkway to light the way for trick-or-treaters, or used during Christmas as a
warm accent for the front yard.

5. Platters

Like ornaments, platters can be made of different types of
materials. Sticking with a theme — snowmen, Santa, religious icons — for a
platter works best. Glass is a popular substance.

School auctions held around the holidays have the unique good-fortune
of being able to play off the festive holidays. Bring the seasonal atmosphere
into your gala by having the kids make items that remind guests of the upcoming
holiday.

Fundraising
auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAI is featured in national
publications for her trend-setting work with auction fundraisers. She
teaches auction chairs easy ways to improve an auction’s financial
return. Start improving your auction today by getting her FREE Auction
Item Guide TM. The Guide lists the 100 top-selling items sold for over
value in charity auctions. Claim your FREE copy at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.

1. Showcase your volunteers. Snap a photo of volunteers working, like painting the backdrop canvases that will be stationed around the room, or stuffing invitations into envelopes.

2. Highlight a way-cool item that you know will get guests salivating.

3. Show where the money will go. If money raised from your school auction will re-grade the football field, show the existing problems in the field. If it goes towards scholarships, show the students studying in the library.

4. Take me on the journey as you transform your venue. If the auction will be held in the school gym, let me see bleachers being moved away to make way for silent auction tables. Let me see the décor committee setting up the props.

5. Share a special moment from last year’s event, like an excited bidder wildly waving her bid card or three friends laughing around the silent auction table.

6. Are you honoring anyone? Is there a key person who needs to be seen in your photos? Put his or her photo on your site! At one of my school auctions, the Pastor was always an integral part of the gala. One year he agreed to cut off his ponytail at the end of the auction, if a certain amount of money had been raised. Posting a photo of him receiving his end-of-gala haircut would draw traffic.

7. Got a theme? Showcase it! Take shots of the centerpieces, the décor, or whatever else conveys the theme.

8. Take a photo of the auction invitation and put it on your Pinterest site. Include a website beneath the photo that tells guests where to go for more information or to buy tickets.

You might have already found other ways to use Pinterest to promote your school auction. Share your ideas below!

Fundraising auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAI is featured in national publications for her trend-setting work with auction fundraisers. She teaches auction chairs easy ways to improve an auction’s financial return. Start improving your auction today by getting her FREE Auction Item Guide TM. The Guide lists the 100 top-selling items sold for over value in charity auctions. Claim your FREE copy at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.

Ten Tips for Getting Items Year Round

One of the reasons charity auctions become overwhelming is due to the amount of work required at the last minute. Managing a guest list, coordinating volunteers, decorating the room, overseeing vendors of food, entertainment, production, and so forth are all simultaneously handled.

And if a group hasn’t done a good job of halting procurement a few weeks prior, it also means that items are still being requested and received, even while the deadline for the catalog printing has passed.

When a group doesn’t do a good job of managing procurement, volunteers feel out of control. To ease the inevitable aggravation, start procuring quality items year round, using these tips.

1. During your auction's off-season, spend some time concentrating on building out your auction notebook. The procurement section should include names, addresses and results from last year’s procurement. Organize now to make it easy to find information later.

2. After the charity auction, take time to write a wrap-up letter to donors with an additional thank you and auction results. It will help plant the seed for next year’s ask.

3. Many corporations have a budget for giving. They allocate it via a “first come, first serve" approach. You'll want your organization's letter to be one of the first letters received in January when the budget renews (or July, for some fiscal calendars). Spend the fall collecting the contacts and putting the letters together so they are received on January 2.

4. Build your contact list by following your community's business section for new businesses opening. Flag those contacts in your database so you can customize a letter to them related to their first year in business.

5. Subscribe to at least one magazine or blog that targets your audience – or a developing section of your audience -so you can be more educated about their interests. For example, if you intend to target an audience of 30-something men, make sure to read about electronics and technology. You’ll key in on several items to add to your ask list that will be attractive to those guests.

6. Year round, have regular – if not as frequent – teleconferences with your committee to discuss procurement. Discussion of past or upcoming school /nonprofit events can be a time to brainstorm on who will be there and what they said. “Julie is going on vacation to Mexico,” you might learn, “We should ask them if they’ll ask the hotel for a donation.”

7. Have a meeting with your big spenders about a month after the auction. See what their plans are for the upcoming two years. Is someone remodeling the kitchen, traveling to Hawaii, or organizing a 50th anniversary? Start working on finding a package to address their needs now. You might be able to procure it – and they buy it – at your next year’s auction.

8. Send reminders to all key committee members before major holidays/breaks when they’ll likely be around family. “Don’t forget to ask your brother / parents / sisters for use of their condo when you see them over Thanksgiving,” you can write.

9. Every Monday, email your team two procurement ideas from my Auction Item Guide TM (It’s free. Claim yours on my website.). Keeping new, creative ideas in front of your team on a regular basis will start to penetrate their consciousness. They’ll naturally be on the lookout for ideas.

10. To keep it fresh, consider focusing on a different theme every month. Travel now ... food next.

Once you’ve secured your larger items earlier, you’ll be more at ease. It’s easier to handle little issues when the big issues are resolved.

(c) Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved.

About the author:

Fundraising auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAI is featured in national publications for her trend-setting work with auction fundraisers. She teaches auction chairs easy ways to improve an auction’s financial return. Start improving your auction today by getting her FREE Auction Item Guide TM. The Guide lists the 100 top-selling items sold for over value in charity auctions. Claim your FREE copy at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.

Benefit Auction Tips & Must-Know Terms

Say what you mean: A mini-dictionary of commonly misused benefit auction terms

While surfing the internet, I stumbled across an article talking about the use of jargon and how it can lead to misunderstandings. It got me to thinking about the terms we misuse in nonprofit auctions.

How much time do volunteers waste trying to “explain what they mean” because the auction terms change from meeting to meeting or from person to person? I’ve heard the same auction activity called different names by two school auction co-chairs. It wasn’t long before a volunteer piped up, “I’m confused. Are you talking about the same thing she’s talking about?”

Standardizing our terms brings clarity, so here’s my abbreviated dictionary of terms I often hear that lead to confusion among auction committee members.

A package is something that could be a single item, or several single items combined into something larger. Packages are then sold at the auction gala.

For instance, the donation of a bike is an “item.” It could be sold alone (thereby becoming a package) or could be combined with a bike maintenance plan and a tire pump to create a more substantial package.

The term “prize” is often reserved to describe something that a guest has been awarded for no cost. Whereas an item or a package ispurchased, a prize is free.

Case in point, a bidder who has paid $5000 for a Napa Valley package in the live auction doesn’t say he "won a prize.” Usually he says, “I bought the Napa package” or “I won the Napa trip.” In neither case does he call his purchase a prize.

Bottom line: For clarity, don’t use the word “prize” when referring to the list of procured donations that will be sold. Refer to them as items or packages.

2. The “cash appeal,” “mission moment,” “raise the paddle,” fund a scholar,” and so forth.

The appeal is that portion of the auction when guests are invited to make a donation without buying a package.

Bottom line: The name chosen isn’t as important as the commitment to stick with the chosen moniker. You don't want your auction committee calling the appeal different names and possibly confusing guests or each other. Brand the activity to your event by selecting a name and consistently using it.

3. “Oral auction” versus “live auction”

A few years ago, one of my Richmond, VA clients asked when I'd be conducting the "oral auction." I was startled! I hadn’t heard that more Southern term before.

Technically, the word "oral" is correct, but realize that most benefit auctioneers will refer to it as a live auction.

Bottom line: When in Rome, I do as the Romans. I adapted my language to match the regional differences. But be aware that “oral auctions” isn’t so common.

4. “Catalog” versus “program”

A catalog is a listing of the items and descriptions available for sale. Most school auctions have a catalog. Though other material might be in the catalog (e.g. a Headmaster welcome letter, sponsor listings, advertisements), the intent of the material is to describe the items so guests know what is available to buy.

A program is more often seen at nonprofit auctions. It’s a smaller printed piece – sometimes it’s just a folded 8.5” x 11” of paper – that might list an agenda, information about the nonprofit, a listing of sponsors, or other information.

Bottom line: If you’re using both, call each by its correct name. If you’ve combined your catalog and program into one piece, pick a name and consistently use it to avoid confusion.

Eliminate confusion when planning your nonprofit auction by using the proper terms.

Nonprofit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAI has been featured in national publications for her work with auction fundraisers. She teaches volunteer chairs easy ways to improve each auction’s financial return. Start improving your gala today by getting her FREE Auction Item Guide™. It lists the 100 top-selling items that sold for over value in charity auctions last year. Grab your FREE copy athttp://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.